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Study a Verse
Pick any verse to see what it means and how to use it in your life.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 17.12
अभिसन्धाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत् ।
इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम् ॥ १२ ॥
abhisandhāya tu phalaṁ
dambhārtham api caiva yat
ijyate bharata-śreṣṭha
taṁ yajñaṁ viddhi rājasam
But the sacrifice performed for some material benefit, or for the sake of pride, O chief of the Bhāratas, you should know to be in the mode of passion.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Sacrifice done for material benefit or out of pride is in the mode of passion.
Prabhupāda explains that this includes rituals done to reach heaven or gain material benefits in this world.
Examine whether your reason for performing sacrifice is material gain or pride.
Sacrifice in the mode of passion
Done for some material benefit
e.g. For elevation to heavenly kingdom or some other material benefits
For the sake of pride
Sacrifices can also be performed in the modes –
Dutifully in goodness
Fruitively in passion
Unfaithfully in ignorance
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: prakṛti, guṇa.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 17.12 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to nature & guṇas?
Observe which mode shaped your last decision.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.